Aftermath of Boxing seminar

[Matt Ropis]

One thing that is always on a boxers mind is the high price of glory.
I remember lying in bed on the 12th of March 1974.
My mind was in turmoil because the next night I was scheduled to fight Blakeney Kid Matthews at Blacktown RSL for the undisputed Australian title.
Blakney at the time was rated number 6 in the world at Junior Lightweight and in his last fight he had stopped Andy Broome in the 8th round to lay claim to the disputed Australian Lightweight title.
He had one version I had the other, so this fight would settle it.
No one gave me a hope in hell of winning and all the newspapers scoffed at my chances
So in my nervous tossing and turning I did what I have hardly ever done except in dire circumstances.
I prayed.
In my prayer I asked of God.
"Let me have my brains punched out even die in the ring but let me win this fight" this I thought was fair because this title meant everything to me and I was willing to pay any price to win.
So I knew firsthand what a boxer is willing to sacrifice to win.

That little episode was a lifetime ago but I have never forgotten it.
Fast forward to now and the present finds me now a referee and judge and still in the fight game.
The ABF which I am a member of listened to and granted me a chance to put on a boxing seminar which the focus would be on increasing the longevity of a boxer.

For this seminar I recruited the two best doctors I knew of in Australia in regard to boxing.
They were Dr John Dory and Helen Clausen both had done numerous studies on boxers and injuries they suffered and had spoken at numerous seminars.
The agenda I requested was if you had a son and he was a boxer and even though you disagree with his
participation in this sport,what would be the best advice you could give him.
What I wanted was a slip,slop ,slap message that boxers could understand.
They both got back to me with what they would talk on and this was.......

* The impact of boxing on the brain.
* How to minimise the likelihood of brain injury.
* What to watch for after a bout or sparring.
* Increasing the Longevity of fighters.
* The best advice you could give a fighter.
* Psychological aspects of training.
* Diet.
* Preparing for a fight.
* Role of a trainer before a fight
* Role of a trainer in corner.
* Care of injuries
* Role of trainer in fighters life.

We also recruited Barry Michaels,Lester Ellis and Susie Ramadan to talk on subjects with this theme.

In preparation for this seminar I made over 150 phone calls informing boxers and trainers of this seminar and most assured me they would come.
When the seminar finally arrived altogether there was only 47 people there and over 20 of them were officials and helpers and it honestly broke my heart.

There was one thing that gave me redemption though and that was after the seminar a gentleman came up to me and told me he had read about the seminar on the forums and he said it was the best seminar he had been to.
He then gave me an envelope which if you read the first draft you will see that an envelope on the way out was the original method of payment,but I was voted down on this at the ABF meeting and it was changed to a donation on the way in.
So he gave a donation on the way in as well as an envelope on the way out.
That envelope had $100 in it.
That gentlemen gave me faith once again in human beings and I thank him from the bottom of my heart.
The seminar was only lacking in attendence and I could live to be 100 and I will never go to a better one and it fufilled all my hopes.

Kind regards Matt Ropis

[Da Voice]

Seminar attendances have never successful and never will be 'cos everyone in the game figures they know it all. Even though most can't figure how many kgs = lbs & verse verse